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With this year’s homecoming theme being Disney, me and a few of my friends went to the JC cinema to watch my favorite Disney movie, and honestly one of my favorite movies in general, Aladdin.

This was the first time I watched Aladdin in a theater setting, and I found it interesting hearing and seeing the reactions of people. Between the laughter and everyone singing songs, I just found it incredible how much this movie still affects people even after all of these years.

But I began to question, why? Why do people love Aladdin, and honestly why do they love the Disney Renaissance movies so much more than the more modern Disney movies.

Is it the plot? Admittedly, it’s pretty simple. Guy meets girl. Guy falls in love with girl. Guy makes himself something he’s not to get girl. Guy sees errors of his ways and gets the girl in the end.

Is it the music? Let’s be honest, the music is this movie, as with others during this period in Disney’s history, is absolutely fantastic, and this definitely has a huge role in the movie’s popularity. I dare you to watch “A Whole New World” and not start singing as loud as you can. But here’s the thing. Take Tangled for instance. I loved the music in that one, and “I See the Light” was one of the best Disney songs in years. Yet people still rank Aladdin over Tangled.

What about the animation? I thought that the animation was crisp and just easy to watch, and it was traditional, which opens up a whole other debate as to what’s better: traditional animation or computer animation.

Characters? Each character in Aladdin is colorful and memorable. They are unique and lovable, and you actually feel a deep connection with these characters after only 77 minutes, a true testament to Disney’s ability to make you tap into you emotions.

My honest opinion is that it’s a combination of all these things with a touch of nostalgia. I grew up with this movie, and when I watch it, all of my boyhood memories come back, and I feel like this is common among people. I know that for as long as I live I’ll love Aladdin and show it to my kids and we’ll see how they react. Will they love the movie as much as me, or will they have those same feelings for the Disney movies of their generation.

6 Responses to “Post #2: What Makes People Love Aladdin?”

I agree with you! Disney does an amazing job of creating completely lovable characters and making them timeless. It’s interesting to think about what exactly makes them lovable and timeless though. I think the nostalgia has a lot to do with it. Something that has rooted itself in you childhood, like Aladdin, is always going to stay with you. Where as a movie like The Princess and the Frog still has all the elements you described but we didn’t experience it as children. But it’s hard to compare when a child’s mentality is always changing through the generations.

My children also grew up watching and loving Aladdin. What is funny, my husband and I were adults and we also loved it, no nostalgia necessary…we saw ourselves in the characters! My husband and I slightly resembled the characters and our sons recognized that. Plus, we all are music fanatics. I suppose my point is, that Disney does a great job at creating characters that parents and children can relate to on various levels. So for our family, everyone holds a special place in their ‘animation movie heart’ for Aladdin.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but the main reason I enjoyed Aladdin was because of Genie both in the original movie and the two sequels. He was a combination of good animation, good dialogue, and in the case of the original and third movie, Robin Williams as the voice actor.